Is this really a Game?!

The Tier VI monstrosity, a grotesque amalgamation of corruption and malevolence, rose from the shattered ground. Its presence alone sent shivers down the spines of the Tier V combatants. The corrupted core now revealed in its true form, was a formidable adversary that surpassed anything they had faced before.

The monster stood at 5 meters tall, had a pair of wings that were seemingly powerful but not really enough to let it fly and walked on two legs. Its head was akin to an insect, more specifically, the male Dobson Fly, and a pair of powerful bovine legs that were incredibly thick and muscular.

The monster itself was very muscular and seemed imposing, akin to a small hill that could pummel them to death in an instant.

"What the hell, how could this thing be a Tier VI, the power it previously showed was nowhere close to that level?!" Shadow cursed as Reign suddenly moved.

He charged at the monster, his aura spiking as wings grew out of his back and his body changed, becoming taller and more muscular.

"Run away, I'll hold it back and join you later, it won't be able to leave the area!" Reign shouted, fully certain that the monster still had to abide by its own rules.

When it was only a core, a ball of corruption and flesh, it couldn't leave the area it had corrupted, and now, when it had turned into a Tier VI, Reign was certain that although it could move inside the area it had corrupted, it won't be able to leave it.

Of course, that was only his speculation, he had never before fought against such an enemy, so he was going with what he knew from their brief encounter.

Reign's swords clashed against the Tier VI monster, and the two were at a stalemate.

"Huh?" Reign's face was one of confusion as the Tier VI monster in front of him, one that, although he should be able to contend against, was supposed to be more powerful than him, was not as powerful as he expected.

"Wait, attack it!" Reign suddenly yelled out as he stared at the monster.

"This bastard is not a real Tier VI, it only has the aura of one!"

Reign pulled back with a flap of his wings before looking around and grinning.

"I see, it is taking the corruption back in order to strengthen itself, if we can finish this quickly, you won't be able to receive the full power and become a real Tier VI monster, huh?" Reign asked before dodging to the side and swinging his swords, causing two large gashes to appear on the monster's claws.

Shadow and the others were able to hear everything that Reign had said, and upon hearing him, their eyes widened slightly as smiles appeared on their faces.

They were just about to run away and leave the fighting to Reign, who, in his Nephilim form, was much more powerful than they were, only to find out the enemy was not as frightening as they thought.

Of course, that was still mostly thanks to Reign.

If not for his transformation, the monster would have been able to slaughter most of them before they would be able to defeat it, causing many casualties on their end. 

With Reign in his strongest form present, however, something that the monster definitely didn't expect, things were different and they had a chance of defeating it without suffering too much.

Shadow grinned, his daggers glinting as he lunged at the Tier VI monster. The others followed suit, each unleashing a barrage of attacks on the seemingly formidable adversary. Their strikes, empowered by the knowledge that the monster wasn't a true Tier VI, landed with newfound confidence.

Fluffy's bladed devil horns slashed through the corrupted flesh, leaving deep wounds. Blackie's lightning-imbued attacks crackled through the air, disrupting the monster's movements. Elijah's throwing spears, infused with poisons, found their mark, causing the Tier VI entity to convulse.

The corrupted jungle, once a battleground between the Tier V team and the monstrous entity, now became a stage for their counterattack. The very environment that had worked against them now bore witness to their united assault.

Reign, in his Nephilim form, continued to engage the Tier VI monster. His dual swords danced through the air, striking with precision. The monster, caught off guard by the sudden onslaught, attempted to retaliate, but Reign's enhanced speed and strength proved to be too much.

With each passing moment, the Tier VI monster weakened. Its attempts to draw back the corruption and strengthen itself were thwarted by the relentless assault as the corruption was now nothing but a way for the monster to heal itself and continue fighting. The corrupted energy, once a source of its power and what was supposed to bring it to a higher realm, was nothing else but a way for it to extend its torture.

Tank's generals, guided by Beast's strategic commands, unleashed their attacks that further destabilized the monster. Laura, her demonic energy resonating with the corruption, launched spells that pierced through the entity's defenses. Tord summoned a new monster, one that was a low-grade Tier V that he had managed to control with the help of Reign and the others, and then grabbed his spear before a spiral of dark energy, one very different from the darkness that Reign and Shadow possessed, appeared around it.

He threw the spear with full force as the monster next to him, which looked like a fox, only that it was about 3.4 meters tall, lunged at Tier VI, seemingly not caring whether it died or not.

As the battle unfolded, Shadow observed the Tier VI monster closely. Despite its grotesque appearance and the corruption that emanated from it, there was a distinct lack of intelligence in its eyes. It was as if the entity operated on instinct rather than strategy.

Reign, sensing an opportunity, shouted, "We need to keep pushing! It's not thinking, just reacting. If we can maintain the pressure, we'll break through its defenses!"

The Tier V combatants, fueled by the revelation of the monster's true nature, redoubled their efforts. Their attacks became more coordinated, targeting specific weak points in the corrupted entity. Fluffy and Blackie moved with synchronicity, dodging the monster's attacks and retaliating with precise strikes.

Laura, with her demonic energy attuned to the corruption, unleashed spells that disrupted the Tier VI monster's attempts to absorb the corrupted energy. Elijah's poisons continued to eat away at the monster's regenerative abilities, leaving it vulnerable to the relentless assault.

The battle progressed, the only threat being the lack of time as Reign wouldn't be able to continue using his Nephilim form forever. The battle was now more of a battle against time, if they managed to at least injure the monster severely before his transformation ended, they would definitely be the winners, but if they were to fail at doing so and allow it to continue gathering corruption after Reign's transformation, they would be in a dangerous situation.

Still, none would regret their choice of staying and fighting. Defeating a Tier VI, even one that had not managed to get its full power back, would be a remarkable achievement, one that would definitely bring with it rewards.

They all knew just how difficult it was to defeat a monster of a higher realm, even with a group of people.

Their current group consisted of mostly low-grade Tier Vs, with only Reign and his group, together with Aelrinder and Mia, being mid-grade Tier Vs.

Reign and the others were relatively close to high-grade Tier V, but still not quite there as they would need to continue hunting for a couple of more days, maybe a week, to reach that grade.

Boom!

Shockwaves passed through the jungle as the trees swayed greatly, some nearly getting uprooted from the battle that was taking place. The monster was doing its best to fight back, to try and dish out damage, but it was not able to do so.

Beast and Tord had used their two Tier V monsters to get its attention and make sure that if the monster did anything dangerous, it would target one of the two monsters. Tord's fox was already in bad shape, parts of its body torn by the monster while Beast's monster, one that was similar to a praying mantis, already had one of its blades removed by a swipe of the monster's claws, as well as a wing.

Still, losing those two monsters would do nothing much to Beast and Tord. They could always tame more as the two Tier V monsters were not anything special. They were not variants of any kind and compared to Fluffy and Blackie, Beast's most powerful tamed beasts, the two were a rank below.

And so, with the entire team using everything they had and holding nothing back, not even a sliver of mana, they slowly chipped away at the monster until Reign's transformation was about to end. 

Sensing that he would soon lose his powers, Reign opted for going all out for one attack, one that would hopefully deal immense damage to the monster.